California Man Seen Chewing On Severed Human Leg Sentenced

A Central California man who was arrested in connection with the theft of human remains from an accident scene has entered a plea and will spend the next several months in jail. The incident took place back on March 22 just outside of the city of Bakersfield.

A 27-year-old California man has been sentenced to one year in jail for stealing a severed human leg from the site of a pedestrian fatality in late March, according to details shared by Bakersfield.com. The deadly incident involved a pedestrian and a train. Bakersfield has a population of 410,000 and is located 270 miles south of Sacramento.

I've been covering news for more than 25 years, and I've never heard of anything as bizarre as this case. Incidents of human cannibalism don't pop up in American crime often, so naturally, this case made national headlines.

The man learned of his fate Thursday afternoon in a Kern County courtroom. Several witnesses called police on March 22 when the man was seen waiving the human remains, laughing, and gnawing on the leg, according to reports. A no contest plea was issued by the defendant.

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It is illegal for anyone to remove items from an accident scene. The removal of human remains from such sites carries additional offenses.

I've been covering news for more than 25 years, and I've never heard of anything as bizarre as this case. Incidents of human cannibalism don't pop up in American crime often, so naturally, this case made national headlines.

A year sentence doesn't necessarily mean the man will serve the full twelve months. Inmates are regularly released on good behavior. The fact that the man had nothing to do with the death of the victim was also reflected in the sentence.